The need for immediate action to protect the environment is a value that is universal throughout the global community. The pollution of our air and water is affecting our health, food supplies and is a contributing factor to global climate change. The demand for effective devices to remove harmful pollutants from combustion exhaust gases, manufacturing processes and animal waste is higher than at any time in our history.
The installation of devices to remove particulate matter, noxious gasses, acidic compounds and offensive odors (collectively, “contaminants”) emanating from all types of manufacturing, industrial and commercial processes is now an accepted part of industrial manufacturing. Tougher environmental legislation is the primary driver behind the increasing demand for remedial devices and provides the incentive for rapid development of more effective tools to clean flue gases and effluent discharges from manufacturing and power generation plants, vehicles and heavy equipment. These devices use different processes to isolate or change the form of the polluting components in order to remove them from the waste or exhaust discharge. These processes may utilize chemical sprays, catalytic reactants, electric fields, filters, cyclones and chemical solutions to remove pollutants from the waste stream.
The combustion of hydrocarbons in the form of coal, fuel oil, gasoline and diesel fuel is an essential part of modern life. Coal is used to fuel furnaces to generate heat and power to service residential and industrial facilities around the world. Diesel fuel powers our transportation industry, the heavy equipment used in mining, forestry, farming and materials handling, an increasing number of vehicles, locomotives, ships and port service vessels. The prevalence of these combustion processes creates a significant contribution to atmospheric pollution.
In addition to combustion processes, the emission of toxic or odorous chemical compounds from manufacturing processes for products such as paints and stains, chemicals, paper and plastics has a detrimental impact on our environment. Chemical fallout in the form of acid rain contaminates waterways and destroys fish and wildlife habitats. Odors from manufacturing operations and large scale animal farms create an offensive environment for human occupation.
Development of the invention was undertaken to provide industry with a device that would economically and effectively meet the increasingly restrictive air quality standards. The scope of the design addressed a range of polluting gas streams from both combustion and non-combustion sources. It was recognized that the design needed to have flexibility to meet the challenges of different industries and physical layout restraints, expandability to meet the gas processing volumes generated by a range of industrial operations and it needed to be efficient in its energy consumption and pollutant removal while maintaining a price point that was acceptable to international industry. Providing a device to industry that meets these criteria will provide global environmental benefits.